Systems and methods for online brand continuity

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a system and method for online brand continuity. Online brand continuity can include a number of Internet or intranet access points via which one or more network addresses can be advertised. A client can be provided with availability of a business image application via at least one of the Internet or intranet access points.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/046,092, filed Mar. 11, 2008, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORONLINE BRAND CONTINUITY”, now abandoned and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/046,214, filed Mar. 11, 2008, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORONLINE BRAND CONTINUITY”, now abandoned, all of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

A brand image is considered to be a powerful asset for manyorganizations. Organizations may allocate significant capital towardprotecting their brand image in the form of advertising, market surveysand analysis, quality control measures, trademark protection, and othermeans. As an organization grows, it may tend to develop an online brandimage, sometimes associated with a website or other online application.An online brand image for an organization may be as significant of anasset as a more traditional brand image, such as reputation for qualityproducts.

One facet of an online brand image for an organization is availabilityor continuity of presence of the online application projecting the brandimage. For example, an organization may wish to project suchcharacteristics as strength, reliability, integrity, security, andothers through persistent presence of an online application. Anorganization may desire to provide “always-on” online applications suchthat a client using the applications receives, or at least perceives,continuous service. Accordingly, much effort has been exerted in theareas of reliability, durability, and security of online applications,particularly with respect to data centers that host such onlineapplications.

As continuity of online applications hosted in a data center may becritical to particular organizations, various efforts have been made toenhance the reliability of data centers. For example, some data centersare provided with physical reliability such as housing the data centerin an inconspicuous location, providing restricted access to the datacenter, providing the data center with environmental isolation andcontrol, and providing electrical power supply redundancy to the datacenter. Another element of reliability that has been added to datacenter design is to provide an organization with more than one physicaldata center, e.g., providing multiple data centers at differentlocations. Likewise, an online access point, such as an Internet orintranet connection, to a data center may fail, which could obviatecertain measures taken to protect the functionality of a single datacenter.

Providing “redundant” or “backup” data centers may provide anorganization with the ability to protect online applicationfunctionality against harmful factors that extend beyond the scope ofthe organization's control over a single data center. For example, asingle data center may be vulnerable to physical failure, e.g., fromterrorist activity, fire, earthquake, etc. A single data center may bevulnerable to electronic failure, e.g., “hacker” activity such asviruses, broadcast storms, denial of service attacks, and the like. Asingle data center may be vulnerable to electric and/ortelecommunications failure of such a magnitude that the providedredundant systems internal to the data center are unable to mitigate thefailure. Other failures reducing or eliminating the functionality of asingle data center are possible. In such instances, having additionaldata centers at separate geographic locations may provide theorganization with the ability to maintain data center functionalityafter the loss of a single data center or online access point.

SUMMARY

In one or more embodiments, a system for online brand continuity caninclude a first Internet access point via which a first specific networkaddress is advertised for a brand image application. The system can alsoinclude a second Internet access point via which a second specificnetwork address is advertised for the brand image application. Thesystem can further include a third Internet access point via which aless-specific network address is advertised for the brand imageapplication. The brand image application is available to a client via atleast one of the first and second Internet access points when at leastone of the first and second Internet access points meets particularcriteria. The brand image application is at least partially available tothe client via the third Internet access point when the first and secondInternet access points fail to meet particular criteria.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a methodfor online brand continuity can include advertising a first specificnetwork address for a brand image application via a first Internetaccess point. The method can also include advertising a second specificnetwork address for the brand image application via a second Internetaccess point. The method can further include advertising a less-specificnetwork address for the brand image application via a third Internetaccess point. The method can include making the brand image applicationavailable to a client via at least one of the first and second Internetaccess points when at least one of the first and second Internet accesspoints meets particular criteria. The method can include making thebrand image application at least partially available to the client viathe third Internet access point when the first and second Internetaccess points fail to meet particular criteria.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure include a computingdevice readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, whenexecuted by a processor, cause a device to perform a method for onlinebrand continuity, including advertising a first specific network addressfor a brand image application via a first Internet access point. Themethod includes advertising a second specific network address for thebrand image application via a second Internet access point. The methodalso includes advertising a less-specific network address for the brandimage application via a third Internet access point. The method furtherincludes making the brand image application available to a client via atleast one of the first and second Internet access points when at leastone of the first and second Internet access points meet particularcriteria. The method includes making the brand image application atleast partially available to the client via the third Internet accesspoint when the first and second Internet access points fail to meetparticular criteria.

In one or more embodiments, a system for online brand continuityincludes a first Internet access point via which a specific networkaddress is advertised for a brand image application. The system includesa second Internet access point via which a less-specific network addressis advertised for the brand image application. The brand imageapplication is available to a client via the first Internet access pointwhen the specific network address is advertised via the first Internetaccess point. The system protects a brand image by providingavailability of the brand image application to the client via the secondInternet access point when the specific network address ceases to beadvertised via the first Internet access point.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a methodfor online brand continuity includes advertising a specific networkaddress via a first Internet access point for brand image application.The method also includes advertising a less-specific network address viaa second Internet access point for the brand image application. Themethod further includes providing availability of the brand imageapplication to a client via the first Internet access point when thespecific network address is advertised via the first Internet accesspoint. The method includes protecting a brand image by providingavailability of the brand image application to the client via the secondInternet access point when the specific network address ceases to beadvertised via the first Internet access point.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure include a computingdevice readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, whenexecuted by a processor, cause a device to perform a method for onlinebrand continuity, including advertising a specific network address via afirst Internet access point for brand image application. The method alsoincludes advertising a less-specific network address via a secondInternet access point for the brand image application. The methodfurther includes providing availability of the brand image applicationto a client via the first Internet access point when the specificnetwork address is advertised via the first Internet access point. Themethod includes protecting a brand image by providing availability ofthe brand image application to the client via the second Internet accesspoint when the specific network address ceases to be advertised via thefirst Internet access point.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a system foronline brand continuity includes a first intranet access point via whicha specific network address for a brand image application is advertised.The system includes a second intranet access point via which thespecific network address for the brand image application is advertised.The system also includes a third intranet access point via which aless-specific network address for the brand image application isadvertised. The system further includes a client having availability ofthe brand image application via at least one of the first and secondintranet access points. The client has at least partial availability ofthe brand image application via the third intranet access point. Thefirst, second, and third intranet access points, and the client areinterconnected via an autonomous intranetwork using interior gatewayprotocol (IGP).

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a methodfor online brand continuity includes advertising a specific networkaddress for a brand image application via a first intranet access point.The method includes advertising the specific network address for a brandimage application via a second intranet access point. The method alsoincludes advertising a less-specific network address for the brand imageapplication via a third intranet access point. The method furtherincludes providing availability of the brand image application to aclient via at least one of the first and second intranet access points.The method includes providing at least partial availability of the brandimage application to the client via the third intranet access point. Themethod includes interconnecting the first, second, and third intranetaccess points, and the client via an autonomous intranetwork usinginterior gateway protocol (IGP).

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure include a computingdevice readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, whenexecuted by a processor, cause a device to perform a method for onlinebrand continuity, including advertising a specific network address for abrand image application via a first intranet access point. The methodincludes advertising the specific network address for the brand imageapplication via a second intranet access point. The method also includesadvertising a less-specific network address for the brand imageapplication via a third intranet access point. The method furtherincludes providing availability of the brand image application to aclient via at least one of the first and second intranet access points.The method includes providing at least partial availability of the brandimage application to the client via the third intranet access point. Themethod includes interconnecting the first, second, and third intranetaccess points, and the client via an autonomous intranetwork usinginterior gateway protocol (IGP).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for online brandcontinuity having three Internet access points according to one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system for online brandcontinuity having two Internet access points according to one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system for online brandcontinuity having three intranet access points according to one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a system and method for online brandcontinuity. Online brand continuity can include a number of Internet orintranet access points via which one or more network addresses can beadvertised. A client can be provided with availability of a businessimage application via at least one of the Internet or intranet accesspoints.

In the following detailed description of the present disclosure,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration how one or more embodimentsof the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art topractice the embodiments of this disclosure, and it is to be understoodthat other embodiments may be utilized and that process, electrical,and/or structural changes may be made without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure.

The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the firstdigit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number and theremaining digits identify an element in the drawing. Similar elementsbetween different figures may be identified by the use of similardigits. For example, 102 may reference element “102” in FIG. 1, and asimilar element may be referenced as 202 in FIG. 2.

As used herein, an access point can be a layer 1, e.g., physical layer,connection such as an Ethernet cable, a modem, a fiber optic cable, aUSB cable, a synchronous optical network (SONET) connection, 802.11xwireless connections, T-carrier links, or other connections. As usedherein, failure to meet particular criteria for an access point includesloss of a physical layer connection, e.g., a modem that is not working.Failure to meet particular criteria also includes loss of service via aphysical layer access point. For example, if a computing device isconnected to an Internet service provider (ISP) through an Ethernetcable connected to a modem, and the ISP ceases to provide service, thensuch an occurrence is referred to herein as failure to meet particularcriteria, where the access point can refer to any of the Ethernet cable,modem, or other physical connection, regardless of whether the physicalconnections are otherwise functional. Likewise, an access point isconsidered to meet particular criteria if it is providing a networkconnection, e.g., to the Internet or intranet. The above examples ofparticular criteria are not provided as a limitation on particularcriteria. For example, particular criteria can include inability tohandle a given volume of traffic for an access point. Other criteria arepossible.

That a network address can be advertised via an access point means thatthe advertisement touches or passes through the access point. That anetwork address can be advertised via an access point does not requirethat the advertisement originate or terminate at the access point.

As used herein, an autonomous intranet is a network or collection ofnetworks under the control of an organization, e.g., the organizationcan have a common routing policy for the autonomous intranet. Anautonomous network may or may not have a connection to the publicInternet. As used herein, a website is a collection of one or more webpages that can be associated with a particular person or organization.For example, a website associated with the uniform resource locator(URL) http://www.uspto.gov is a website including a number of web pages,e.g. http://www.uspto.gov/patf/index.html, which may generally beregarded as the Patent and Trademark Office website, and can be managedby the USPTO or their designated agents.

As used herein, online applications or brand image applications includeservices such as websites, streaming media, executable programapplications, file transfer protocol (FTP) applications, data storage,online business transactions such as banking, insurance, and the like,among other online applications. In one or more embodiments, brand imageapplication data includes data associated with online applications suchas files stored in databases, client profiles, client passwords,financial records, executable instructions for providing the onlineapplication, and other such data. That is, brand image application dataitself, may not provide a brand image. However, brand image applicationdata may be used to facilitate brand image applications, e.g., programinstructions containing brand image application data can be executed toprovide a website that presents a brand image. Partial availability of abrand image application can include full availability of certainportions of the brand image application.

In one or more embodiments, various components of the embodiments ofsystems for online brand continuity described herein, e.g., systems 100,200, and 300 in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, can involve the use of logic, e.g.,application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a processor, acontroller, or the like. The processor may be interfaced with a memoryconfigured to provide storage of a set of computer readable instructionsin the form of software, firmware, and/or hardware that providesfunctionality. The interfaced memory may be implemented as a combinationof volatile and non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random accessmemory (“DRAM”), EEPROM, flash memory, or the like.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system 100 for online brandcontinuity having three Internet access points 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Eachaccess point can be associated with a data center. For example, a firstaccess point 102-1 can be associated with a first data center 104-1, asecond access point 102-2 can be associated with a second data center104-2, and a third access point 102-3 can be associated with a thirddata center 104-3. An organization operating multiple data centers canuse one or more data centers, e.g., data centers 104-2 and 104-3, asfailover data centers in case another data center, e.g., data center104-1, loses some or all of its functionality such as a loss offunctionality, of a network access point. Each data center can include anumber of servers, e.g., servers 106-1 in data center 1, servers 106-2in data center 2, and servers 106-3 in data center 3. The data centerscan include various servers, such as web servers, application servers,file servers, email servers, print servers, database servers, etc. Thedata centers can also be associated with a load balancer and one or morerouters, switches, hubs, and other networking devices.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a first specific networkaddress 113-1 can be advertised 112-1 via a first access point 102-1; asecond specific network address 113-2 can be advertised 112-2 via asecond access point 102-2; and a less-specific address 115 can beadvertised 112-3 via a third access point 102-3. Advertising a networkaddress can include identifying a route for traffic having a particulardestination address to upstream network components such as routers. Thatis, advertising a network address can instruct upstream routers todirect traffic for that address to, or through, the source of theadvertisement. The specific network addresses, e.g., 167.24.21.4 and167.24.111.4, can be advertised as single-host interne protocol (IP)addresses. The less-specific address, e.g., 167.24.X.X, can beadvertised as a multi-host IP address. As illustrated in FIG. 1, theaccess points connect to the Internet 150. Accordingly, a border gatewayrouting protocol (BGP) can be used for routing network traffic throughthe access points. Using BGP, a specific address can be a preferredroute to, e.g., appear shorter than, a less-specific address. Forexample, a router on the Internet directing traffic from client 120-1 toIP address 167.24.111.4 can select the route advertised 112-2 via accesspoint 102-2, rather than the route advertised 112-3 via access point102-3.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the less-specific network address 115 can havea network prefix equal to at least a portion of the specific networkaddresses 113-1 and 113-2. For example, the first two octets of thesingle-host IP addresses (167.24) can be equal to the multi-host IPaddress (167.24/16). Accordingly, if either or both of the access points102-1 and 102-2 fail to meet particular criteria, traffic directed tonetwork addresses associated with the access points, e.g., specificnetwork addresses 113-1 and 113-2, can be routed through the thirdaccess point 102-3 via which the less-specific network address 115 isadvertised 112-3. That is, failure of an access point to meet particularcriteria, e.g., access point 102-2, can result in, or result from aspecific network address ceasing to be advertised via the access point.BGP routers in the Internet 150 can then route traffic addressed to thespecific network address 113-2 through the access point 102-3 via whichthe less specific network address 115 is advertised.

A number of forms of data replication between data centers are describedherein. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,data replication can be accomplished in a manner to effectivelyimplement the goals of atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability(ACID). A goal of atomicity is to guarantee that each component of anoperation is completed before the operation is validated. For example,if a particular data value is updated in a server in data center 1,atomic replication should guarantee that the particular data value isupdated in a corresponding server in data center 2 before the update isvalidated, e.g., given an indication that the operation was completedsuccessfully. A goal of consistency is to ensure that data and dataorganization follow a number of established parameters for a particulardatabase. For example, if an operation changed a data value resulting inan invalid result, consistency would require that the data be returnedto its original value rather than storing the invalid result. A goal ofisolation is to prevent multiple operations from affecting a particulardata value simultaneously. For example, an operation being executed on adata value in data center 1 should not be allowed to processsimultaneously with an operation on the same data value in data center2. A goal of durability is to ensure that a validated, e.g., successful,operation is properly recorded such that any data values affected by theoperation are stored in their affected state, rather than a previousunaffected state. For example, if an operation to change a data valuefrom “X” to “Y” successfully completes in data center 1, and data center1 later experiences a loss of connectivity, for example, then the datavalue should be accessible as “Y” in data center 2, or in data center 1after a recovery operation. Although the above examples refer to twodata centers, the ACID principles can apply to systems including othernumbers of data centers.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, data center 1 and data center 2are interconnected via an autonomous intranetwork connection 108. Theautonomous intranetwork connection 108 can be a fiber optic connection,T-carrier connection, or another high-speed data connection. Theautonomous intranet connection 108 can be a secure connection. In one ormore embodiments, data, e.g., brand image application data, can besynchronously replicated between data center 1 and data center 2 via theautonomous intranetwork connection 108. In some instances, brand imageapplication data can be atomically replicated between data center 1 anddata center 2 such that a modified, or new, data value can be storedboth in data center 1 and data center 2 before an indication of asuccessfully completed transaction is provided for an operationmodifying or creating a particular data value. For example, networktraffic from a client, e.g., client 120-1, could be routed to datacenter 1 and processed on one or more servers 106-1 therein. The clienttraffic could effect an operation that could add or modify a brand imageapplication data value stored in one or more servers 106-1. The new ormodified brand image application data value would be replicated andstored in one or more servers 106-2 in data center 2 before networktraffic returned to the client 120-1 indicated that the requestedoperation completed successfully.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the autonomousintranetwork connection 108 can be used to aid in splitting processingof brand image application data between data center 1 and data center 2.One or more application processing servers among the number of servers106-1 in data center 1 and the number of servers 106-2 in data center 2can split processing loads for embodiments where both data center 1 anddata center 2 are maintained as active data centers. An active datacenter is one that receives and processes client traffic. For example,traffic from a client, e.g., client 120-1, routed to data center 1 couldrequire multiple processing operations. The multiple processingoperations could be performed entirely within data center 1, transferredentirely to data center 2 via autonomous intranetwork connection 108, orperformed partially within data center 1 and partially within datacenter 2.

Another example of split processing applies to traffic from multipleclients, e.g., clients 120-1 and 120-2. Traffic from clients 120-1 and120-2 may require multiple processing applications, and as such, trafficfrom each client can be split between data center 1 and data center 2using the autonomous intranetwork connection 108 such that a first typeof processing application is performed in data center 1 and a secondtype of processing application is performed in data center 2. Forexample, traffic using website application processing can be processedin data center 1, while traffic using file server processing can beprocessed in data center 2. For embodiments where data center 1 and datacenter 2 are maintained as active/standby data centers, processing canbe split such that one data center is primary, e.g., the active datacenter, and the other data center is secondary, e.g., the standby datacenter.

Certain portions of brand image application data can be asynchronouslyreplicated from data center 1 and data center 2 to a third data center104-3 via a second autonomous intranetwork connection 110. The secondautonomous intranetwork connection 110 can be a same type of connectionas the autonomous intranetwork connection 108 between data center 1 anddata center 2, or a different type. For example autonomous intranetworkconnection 110 can be a fiber optic connection, T-carrier connection, oranother high-speed data connection. An asynchronous replication of datais complete upon successful receipt of the data. That is, unlikesynchronous replication wherein both sender and receiver must confirmthe replication, asynchronous replication allows the sender to “fire andforget” the data to be replicated. Everything else being equal,asynchronous replication can be faster than synchronous replication.Although embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to havingparticular limits on distances between data centers, data center 1 anddata center 2 may be more proximate to each other than they are to datacenter 3, at least in part due to the generally faster speed ofasynchronous replication of data over the second autonomous intranetworkconnection 110.

Asynchronous replication of data via the second autonomous intranetworkconnection 110 can allow for durable replication of data to data center3. For example, after one or more servers 106-3 in data center 3successfully receive an updated or new data value, the new data valuewill not revert to a prior state. In one or more embodiments data can beasynchronously replicated to data center 3 via the second autonomousintranet connection 110 after it has been synchronously replicatedbetween data center 1 and data center 2 via autonomous intranetconnection 108. In one or more embodiments data can be asynchronouslyreplicated to data center 3 via the second autonomous intranetworkconnection 110 from each of data center 1 and data center 2 withoutregard to whether synchronous replication has completed.

Certain data can be replicated at a database management system (DBMS)level operating in an operating system (OS) layer. In one or moreembodiments, certain portions of data, e.g., data associated withauthentication and member access to a website, can be replicated fromdata centers 1 and 2 to data center 3 at the DBMS level. Accordingly,when access points 102-1 and 102-2 fail to meet particular criteria,traffic can be transitioned to through access point 102-3 automatically,e.g., without manual intervention. Providing online applications caninvolve the use of a significant amount of static data. Static data caninclude data that is not modifiable by a client and/or data that doesnot change frequently. Examples of such “static” data can includegeneric or high level information, financial articles, memberinformation including login and password information. Although “static”data can be modified, it is referred to herein as static data because itcan be always available to a client.

Dynamic data can include data that is supplied and/or modifiable by aclient. Dynamic data can include data that is created for a particularclient in association with a particular client session. Accordingly, anumber of different database management systems can be used withdifferent data types. Examples of relational DMBS include Microsoft'sSQL Server, Oracle Database, and IBM's DB2. Embodiments are not limitedto the use of any or all of these particular systems.

Servers, e.g., servers 106-1, can host a number of brand imageapplications. An organization can host one or more brand imageapplications in multiple data centers, e.g., data centers 104-1 and104-2. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a number ofbrand image applications can be made fully available to a client, e.g.,client 120-1, via at least one of access points 102-1 and 102-2 when atleast one of the access points is functional. A logon page, e.g., a“front door,” to a number of brand image applications can be providedfrom any of data center 1, data center 2, and data center 3. Analogousto the description above, brand image application data can besynchronously replicated between data center 1 and data center 2.Accordingly, full availability of a brand image application can bemaintained from either data center via an associated Internet accesspoint. For example, the data centers illustrated in FIG. 1 can host abrand image application that is a website for an organization“www.organization.com.” When a client, such as client 120-1, directs aweb browser to that URL, a domain name system (DNS) server, e.g., DNSserver 205 in FIG. 2, can resolve either of the specific addresses 113-1or 113-2, when either is functional. As such, the website can be madefully available to the client via at least one of the Internet accesspoints 102-1 and 102-2.

Analogous to the description above, brand image application data can beasynchronously replicated from data centers 1 and 2 to data center 3 viathe second autonomous intranetwork connection 110. Accordingly, at leastpartial availability of one or more brand image applications isavailable to a client via Internet access point 112-3 when at least oneof Internet access point 102-1 and Internet access point 102-2 fail tomeet particular criteria. In one or more embodiments, partialavailability of the brand image application is available via accesspoint 102-3. When access points 102-1 and 102-2 fail to meet particularcriteria, servers associated with access point 102-3, which areconnected to storage frames, can provide access to the data. In suchembodiments, full availability can be restored after brand imageapplication data replication has been completed.

Other restoration methods can include failback, where brand imageapplication processing and network traffic can be automatically, e.g.,with no manual intervention, transitioned back to at least one of datacenter 1 and data center 2. Such failback can occur when a specificnetwork address is advertised via at least one of access points 102-1and 102-2, for example.

By way of example, and not by way of limitation, a brand imageapplication can include a website. The website can be made at leastpartially available to a client, analogous to the description above,including at least a main webpage, a login page, and a webpage forproviding certain static data. A website can have a membership basis,such that member clients, e.g., authorized clients, can have access to anumber of portions of the website, e.g., web pages, to which non-memberclients do not have access. When such a website is made at leastpartially available to clients according to one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure, an inability of a non-member client to gainaccess to the website beyond a login page can conceal a failure of atleast one of the first access point 102-1 and the second access point102-2 to meet particular criteria to the non-member client. Accordingly,providing certain static data to a member client, e.g., via access point102-3, when at least one of access points 102-1 and 102-2 have failed tomeet particular criteria can conceal the one or more failures to meetparticular criteria to the member client. For example, the member clientcould be provided with a main web page, a login page, and certain webpages containing static data generally not requiring replication. In theevent a member client attempted to access certain dynamic data that hadnot been replicated to data center 3, the client can be provided with aweb page based on static data indicating that the website is temporarilybeing serviced and will resume full functionality at a later time.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system 200 for online brandcontinuity having two Internet access points 202-1 and 202-2 accordingto one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Each access pointcan be associated with a data center. For example, a first access point202-1 can be associated with a first data center 204-1, and a secondaccess point 202-2 can be associated with a second data center 204-2. Anorganization operating multiple data centers, e.g. data centers 204-1and 204-2, can use a data center, e.g., data center 204-2, as failoverdata center in case another data center, e.g., data center 204-1, losessome or all of its functionality, such as a loss of functionality of anetwork access point 202-1. Each data center can include a number ofservers, e.g., servers 206-1 in data center 1 and servers 206-2 in datacenter 2. The data centers can include various servers, such as webservers, application servers, file servers, email servers, printservers, database servers, etc. The data centers can also be associatedwith a load balancer, e.g., load balancers 214-1 and 214-2, and one ormore routers, switches, hubs, and other networking devices.

Load balancers 214-1 and 214-2 can balance network traffic, e.g., from anumber of clients, both within a particular data center, e.g., datacenter 204-1, and between a number of data centers, e.g., data centers204-1 and 204-2. Load balancers can perform health checks on a number ofservers 206-1 in a data center 204-1. In one or more embodiments, a loadbalancer can perform a health check on a number of servers to determinewhether the servers are functional, e.g., whether traffic shouldcontinue to be routed to the servers. A network administrator, forexample, can establish certain criteria under which information receivedfrom a health check can cause a load balancer to initiate a failover.Such information can be used by a load balancer to initiate a failoverbetween data centers, for example, by causing a network address to ceaseto be advertised, as is described in more detail below. A load balancercan be connected to a number of servers in a number of topologies. Forexample, load balancer 214-1 is illustrated connected to a number ofservers 206-1 in a star topology 216, while load balancer 214-2 isillustrated connected to a number of servers 206-2 in a bus topology218. Other topologies are possible as will be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art. Embodiments are not limited to the particularexamples illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 2.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, a specific network address 213can be advertised 212-1 via a first access point 202-1 and aless-specific address 215 can be advertised 212-2 via a second accesspoint 202-2. The specific network address, e.g., 167.24.111.4/32, can beadvertised as single-host interne protocol (IP) addresses. Theless-specific address, e.g., 167.24.X.X, can be advertised as amulti-host IP address (167.24/16). As illustrated in FIG. 2, the accesspoints connect to the Internet 250. Accordingly a border gateway routingprotocol (BGP) can be used for routing network traffic to and from theaccess points. Using BGP, a specific address can be a preferred routeto, e.g., appear shorter than, a less-specific address. For example, arouter on the Internet directing traffic from client 220-1 to IP address167.24.111.4 can select the route advertised 212-1 via access point202-1, rather than the route advertised 212-2 via access point 202-2.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the less-specific network address 215 can havea network prefix equal to at least a portion of the specific networkaddress 213. For example, the first two octets of the single-host IPaddresses (167.24) can be equal to the multi-host IP address(167.24/16). Accordingly, if the access point 202-1 fails to meetparticular criteria, traffic directed to network addresses associatedwith the access point, e.g., specific network addresses 213, can berouted through the second access point 202-2 via which the less-specificnetwork address 215 is advertised 212-2. That is, failure of an accesspoint to meet particular criteria, e.g., access point 202-1, can resultin, or result from a specific network address ceasing to be advertisedvia the access point. BGP routers in the Internet 250 can then routetraffic addressed to the specific network address 213-1 through theaccess point 202-2 via which the less specific network address 215 isadvertised. Although the example IP addresses illustrated herein mayappear in IPv4 form, embodiments are not so limited. Embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced using IPv6 and other networkprotocols.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, data center 1 and data center 2can be interconnected via an autonomous intranetwork connection 208. Inone or more embodiments, data, e.g., brand image application data, canbe synchronously replicated between data center 1 and data center 2 viathe autonomous intranetwork connection 208. In some instances, brandimage application data can be atomically replicated between data center1 and data center 2 such that a modified, or new, data value can bestored both in data center 1 and data center 2 before an indication of asuccessfully completed transaction is provided for an operationmodifying or creating a particular data value.

Servers, e.g., servers 206-1, can host a number of brand imageapplications. An organization can host one or more brand imageapplications in multiple data centers, e.g., data centers 204-1 and204-2. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a number ofbrand image applications can be made fully available to a client, e.g.,client 220-1, via the first access point 202-1 when the specific networkaddress is advertised 212-1 via that point, e.g., when access point202-1 is functional. Analogous to the description above, brand imageapplication data can be synchronously replicated between data center 1and data center 2. Accordingly, full availability of a brand imageapplication can be maintained from either data center via an associatedInternet access point.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, at leastpartial availability of one or more brand image applications can beprovided to a client via the second access point 202-2 when the specificnetwork address 213 ceases to be advertised 212-1 via the first accesspoint 202-1. In such instances, traffic from a client, e.g., client220-1, that was addressed to the specific network address 213 can belogically routed through the first Internet access point 202-1, andphysically routed through the second Internet access point 202-2. When aclient addresses traffic to the specific network address 213 after thefirst access point 202-1 has failed to meet particular criteria, suchtraffic can still be routed through the second access point 202-2according to the less-specific address 215, regardless of whether theclient has refreshed a cache associated with domain name system (DNS)server 205 resolution. That is, traffic may continue to be addressed tothe specific network address 213. Such traffic can have separate logicaland physical routes transparently to the client.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system 300 for online brandcontinuity having three intranet access points 302-1, 302-2, 302-3,302-4, and 302-5 according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. A number of access points can be associated with a datacenter. For example, a first access point 302-1 can be associated with afirst data center 304-1, a second access point 302-2 can be associatedwith a second data center 304-2, and a third access point 302-3 can beassociated with a third data center 304-3. A number of access points canbe associated with a client connection to the interior gateway protocol(IGP) intranet. For example, access point 302-4 can be associated withclient 320-1 and access point 302-5 can be associated with client 320-2.

Each of the interconnections illustrated in FIG. 3 represents an IGPlink, as the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 represents an autonomousnetwork including an IGP intranet 360. That is, one organization, e.g.,one company, can exercise topographic control over the network. Althoughthe system 300 can be connected, e.g., via border gateway protocol (BGP)to the Internet, such a connection is not illustrated herein so as notto obfuscate embodiments of the present disclosure described withrespect to FIG. 3. As such, clients, e.g., client 320-1, connect to theTOP intranet 360 via an intranet connection. Clients, such as client320-1, can use computing devices connected to the IGP network 360, e.g.,a computing device operated by an employee of the organization thatexercises topographic control over the network. Embodiments are notlimited to employee-clients; other client-types are possible.

One or more load balancers 314 can balance network traffic, e.g., from anumber of clients. Traffic can be balanced both within a particular datacenter, e.g., data center 304-1, and between a number of data centers,e.g., data centers 304-1 and 304-2.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, a specific network address 313can be advertised 312-1 via a first access point 302-1. The specificnetwork address can also be advertised 312-2 via a second access point302-2. A less-specific address 315 can be advertised 312-3 via a thirdaccess point 302-3. The specific network address, e.g., 10.0.255.10/32,can be advertised as single-host internet protocol (IP) addresses. Theless-specific address, e.g., 10.0.X.X, can be advertised as a multi-hostIP address (10.0116). At least a network prefix, e.g., 10.0., can beadvertised 312-3 as the less-specific network address 315 such thattraffic addressed to any host having the network prefix can be acceptedvia the third intranet access point 302-3. As illustrated in FIG. 3, thenetwork prefix, e.g., 10.0., can be advertised as a portion of thespecific network address 313, e.g., 10.0.255.10, via the first intranetaccess point 302-1 and the second intranet access point 302-2.Accordingly, traffic from a client that was previously routed to datacenter 1 can be routed to either data center 2 or data center 3 withoutrefreshing DNS cache. That is, data center 2 is associated with the samenetwork address as data center 1, therefore the address would notrequire updating. Likewise, data center 3 is associated with aless-specific address including a same network prefix as the addressassociated with data center 1. Traffic addressed to data center 1 can berouted to data center 3 without updating and/or changing the destinationaddress.

Routers in system 300 can use a particular routing protocol, e.g., openshortest path first (OSPF), to select a network path for traffic betweena client, e.g., client 320-1, and a data center, e.g., data center306-1. In some embodiments, the network path selected by one or morerouters for traffic from a client to a data center can be thetopographically shortest route, e.g., the route which may provide thehighest speed for traffic flow to/from the client, the fewest number ofhops, and/or the lowest cost metric, depending on the particular routingconfiguration employed. Accordingly, when the first and second accesspoints 302-1 and 302-2 are functional, traffic from a particular clientcan be routed through one of the access points using OSPF protocol.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, data center 1 and data center 2are interconnected via an autonomous intranetwork connection 308. Data,e.g., brand image application data, can be synchronously replicatedbetween data center 1 and data center 2 via the autonomous intranetworkconnection 308. Brand image application data can be asynchronouslyreplicated from data center 1 and data center 2 to a third data center304-3 via a second autonomous intranetwork connection 310. Synchronousand asynchronous replication of certain portions of brand imageapplication data can use a particular data-layer protocol. Replicationof brand image application data associated with client identificationand login to a brand image application, e.g., a website, can occur at ahigher layer, e.g., a DBMS layer. Although embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited to having particular limits on distancesbetween data centers, data center 1 and data center 2 may be moreproximate to each other than they are to data center 3, at least in partdue to the generally faster speed of asynchronous replication of dataover the second autonomous intranetwork connection 310.

Servers, e.g., servers 306-1, can host a number of brand imageapplications. An organization can host one or more brand imageapplications in multiple data centers. In one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a number of brand image applications can be madefully available to a client, e.g., client 320-1, via at least one of thefirst access point 302-1 and second access point 302-2 when the specificnetwork address 313 is advertised via either point, e.g., when eitheraccess point is functional. Analogous to the description above, brandimage application data can be synchronously replicated between datacenter 1 and data center 2. Accordingly, full availability of a brandimage application can be maintained from either data center via anassociated intranet access point.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, at leastpartial availability of one or more brand image applications can beprovided to a client via the third access point 302-3 when neither ofthe first access point 302-1 and second access point 302-2 isfunctional. For example, a member client can be provided with access toat least certain static portions of a number of brand image applicationsvia the third access point 302-3. In the same example, a non-memberclient can be provided with access to certain public static portions ofbrand image applications via any functional access point. Accordingly,when the third access point 302-3 is functional and the first and secondaccess points 302-1 and 302-2 are not functional, unavailability ofbrand image applications via the first and second access points 302-1and 302-2 is concealed to the non-member client. When either of thefirst 302-1 and second 302-2 access points regain functionality, networktraffic and processing of brand image application data can beautomatically returned to at least one of data center 1 and data center2. Such automatic “failback” can occur without manual intervention.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anarrangement calculated to achieve the same results can be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coveradaptations or variations of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is to be understood that the above description has beenmade in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combinationof the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specificallydescribed herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art uponreviewing the above description. The scope of the various embodiments ofthe present disclosure includes other applications in which the abovestructures and methods are used. Therefore, the scope of variousembodiments of the present disclosure should be determined withreference to the appended claims, along with the full range ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the presentdisclosure have to use more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matterlies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus,the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for online brand continuity, comprising:a first Internet access point via which a first specific network addressis advertised as a destination address for a brand image applicationwherein the first specific network address is advertised as a firstsingle-host Internet protocol (IP) address; a second Internet accesspoint via which a second specific network address is advertised as adestination address for a brand image application wherein the secondspecific network address is advertised as a second single-host Internetprotocol (IP) address; a third Internet access point via which aless-specific network address is advertised as the destination addressfor the brand image application wherein the less-specific address isadvertised as a multi-host IP address with a network prefix equal to atleast a portion of the first single-host IP address; wherein the brandimage application is available to a client via the first Internet accesspoint when the specific network address is advertised via the firstInternet access point and the client uses the specific network addressas the destination address for the brand image application; wherein thesystem protects a brand image by providing availability of the brandimage application to the client via the third Internet access pointwithout using the first Internet access point or the second Internetaccess point when the first specific network address and the secondspecific network address cease to be advertised and the client uses thefirst specific network address or the second specific network address asthe destination address for the brand image application; wherein brandimage application data is synchronously replicated from a first datacenter associated with the first Internet access point to a second datacenter associated with the second Internet access point via anautonomous intranetwork connection prior to a request from the clientfor the brand image application data, whereby responsive to receivingnew or modified brand image application data, the first data centercommunicates the new or modified brand image application data to thesecond data center; and wherein the brand image application data isasynchronously replicated from the first data center and the second datacenter to a third data center and is complete upon successful receipt ofthe brand image application data at the third data center, wherebyresponsive to the first data center or second data center receiving thenew or modified brand image application data, the first data center orsecond data center communicates the new or modified brand imageapplication data to the third data center.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein: a load balancer associated with the first data center performshealth checks on a number of servers in the first data center; and theload balancer causes the specific network address to cease to beadvertised via the first Internet access point when information receivedfrom a health check fails to meet particular criteria.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein traffic from the client addressed to the specificInternet address is logically routed through the first Internet accesspoint and physically routed through the second Internet access pointwhen the specific network address ceases to be advertised.
 4. The systemof claim 3, wherein logical and physical routes of traffic from theclient addressed to the specific Internet address are separatedtransparently to the client.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein logicaland physical routes are separated regardless of whether a domain namesystem (DNS) cache is refreshed.
 6. A method for online brandcontinuity, comprising: advertising a first specific network address viaa first Internet access point as a destination address for a brand imageapplication wherein the first specific network address is a firstsingle-host Internet protocol (IP) address; advertising a secondspecific network address via a first Internet access point as adestination address for a brand image application wherein the secondspecific network address is a second single-host Internet protocol (IP)address; advertising a less-specific network address via a thirdInternet access point as the destination address for the brand imageapplication wherein the less-specific network address is a multi-host IPaddress with a network prefix equal to at least a portion of the firstsingle-host IP address; providing availability of the brand imageapplication to a client via the first Internet access point when thespecific network address is advertised via the first Internet accesspoint and the client uses the specific network address as thedestination address for the brand image application; protecting a brandimage by providing availability of the brand image application to theclient via the third Internet access point without using the firstInternet access point or the second Internet access point when the firstspecific network address and the second specific network address ceaseto be advertised and the client uses the first specific network addressor the second specific network address as the destination address forthe brand image application; responsive to a first data center receivingbrand image application data: synchronously replicating, by the firstdata center, the brand image application data from a first data centerassociated with the first Internet access point to a second data centerassociated with the second Internet access point via an autonomousintranetwork connection prior to a request from the client for the brandimage application data; and asynchronously replicating, by the firstdata center and the second data center, the brand image application datato a third data center, wherein the first data center and the seconddata center communicate the brand image application data to the thirddatacenter, and wherein asynchronously replicating the brand imageapplication data is complete upon successful receipt of the brand imageapplication data at the third data center.
 7. The method of claim 6,including: performing health checks on a number of servers in the firstdata center with a load balancer associated with the first data center;and causing the specific network address to cease to be advertised viathe first Internet access point with the load balancer when informationreceived from a health check fails to meet particular criteria.
 8. Themethod of claim 6, including logically routing traffic from the clientaddressed to the specific Internet address through the first Internetaccess point and physically routing the traffic from the client throughthe second Internet access point when the specific network addressceases to be advertised.
 9. The method of claim 8, including separatinglogical and physical routes of traffic from the client addressed to thespecific Internet address transparently to the client.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, including separating logical and physical routes regardless ofwhether a domain name system (DNS) cache is refreshed.
 11. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions storedthereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause one ormore devices to perform a method for online brand continuity,comprising: advertising a first specific network address via a firstInternet access point as a destination address for a brand imageapplication wherein the first specific network address is a firstsingle-host Internet protocol (IP) address; advertising a secondspecific network address via a first Internet access point as adestination address for a brand image application wherein the secondspecific network address is a second single-host Internet protocol (IP)address; advertising a less-specific network address via a thirdInternet access point as the destination address for the brand imageapplication wherein the less-specific network address is a multi-host IPaddress with a network prefix equal to at least a portion of the firstsingle-host IP address; providing availability of the brand imageapplication to a client via the first Internet access point when thespecific network address is advertised via the first Internet accesspoint and the client uses the specific network address as thedestination address for the brand image application; protecting a brandimage by providing availability of the brand image application to theclient via the third Internet access point without using the firstInternet access point or the second Internet access point when the firstspecific network address and the second specific network address ceaseto be advertised and the client uses the first specific network addressor the second specific network address as the destination address forthe brand image application; responsive to a first data center receivingbrand image application data: synchronously replicating, by the firstdata center, the brand image application data from a first data centerassociated with the first Internet access point to a second data centerassociated with the second Internet access point via an autonomousintranetwork connection prior to a request from the client for the brandimage application data; and asynchronously replicating, by the firstdata center and the second data center, the brand image application datato a third data center, wherein the first data center and the seconddata center communicate the brand image application data to the thirddatacenter, and wherein asynchronously replicating the brand imageapplication data is complete upon successful receipt of the brand imageapplication data at the third data center.
 12. The medium of claim 11,wherein the method includes: performing health checks on a number ofservers in the first data center with a load balancer associated withthe first data center; and causing the specific network address to ceaseto be advertised via the first Internet access point with the loadbalancer when information received from a health check fails to meetparticular criteria.
 13. The medium of claim 11, wherein the methodincludes logically routing traffic from the client addressed to thespecific Internet address through the first Internet access point andphysically routing the traffic from the client through the secondInternet access point when the specific network address ceases to beadvertised.
 14. The medium of claim 11, wherein the method includesseparating logical and physical routes of traffic from the clientaddressed to the specific Internet address transparently to the client.15. The medium of claim 14, wherein the method includes separatinglogical and physical routes regardless of whether a domain name system(DNS) cache is refreshed.